US official voices hope North Macedonia will be able to proceed with EU membership bid

SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — A senior State Department official is voicing hope that North Macedonia will be able to make politically difficult changes to the constitution that would help the country’s bid to join the European Union. Gabriel Escobar, a Deputy Assistant Secretary for Balkan policy, said Friday in the capital Skopje that the U.S. strongly backs the country’s EU accession bid. North Macedonia has agreed, following pressure from neighboring EU member Bulgaria, to amend its constitution and include Bulgarians in a long list of ethnic groups formally listed as living in the country. But while Parliament started the amendment process last week, it looks unlikely that it will be completed due to strong reactions from the conservative main opposition party.